Pentagon Reviews Psyops on Social Media Involving Fake Account Network

The Pentagon reviewed the psyops. (photo: defense.gov)

JAKARTA – Various efforts have been made by the United States to expand its influence in certain countries through the use of social media. However, a study pointed to the existence of bots and fake accounts used by the country to spread pro-US information. This is certainly embarrassing.

Pentagon officials are said to have ordered a thorough review of US information warfare operations conducted via social media platforms, after Twitter and Meta both identified a network of fake accounts believed to be connected to the US military.

Citing interviews with unnamed defense officials, The Washington Post stated that Colin Kahl, undersecretary for policy at the Department of Defense, instructed all branches of the military that conduct online influence campaigns to provide full reports on their operations by next month.

The call for review comes after a report last August from social network analytics firm Graphika and the Stanford Internet Observatory, which revealed a series of influence operations aimed at "promoting pro-Western narratives" in countries such as Russia, China and Afghanistan.

The report is based on data provided to research organizations by Twitter and Meta, which removed the network from the platform in July and August, respectively. This, citing their policy on platform manipulation and coordinated inauthentic activity.

While researchers cannot conclusively link the origins of the related influence campaigns, the accounts "consistently advance narratives that promote the interests of the United States and its allies" while linking to news sites supported by the US government and military.

According to The Post, the White House and officials at other federal agencies became increasingly concerned about the use of covert online influence operations following the report, prompting a review.

Although the US military has long been involved in psychological operations, or "psyops", the use of fake online personas and fake media is relatively new and highly controversial. Data provided by Twitter and Meta shows the accounts used AI-generated faces for profile pictures and, in some cases, disguised themselves as representatives of fictitious independent media organizations.

Such tactics tend to draw unfavorable comparisons with campaigns run by entities such as the GRU, Russia's military intelligence service. Disinformation operations have become a cornerstone of Russia's global power projection, which it uses to push false and misleading political narratives in the US, Europe, Ukraine and elsewhere.